This carrot peas sabzi is prepared with freshly ground Rajasthani spices. This nutritious Indian side dish can be served with roti and packed in lunchboxes.
There is one huge benefit of having grown up in a cosmopolitan city like Bombay. You get to experience different cultures, traditions, customs, and foods under one roof. My building was a classic example of the city we lived in. Each floor had 4 houses that were filled with the warmth of happy families from various cultural backgrounds. As a building, we would celebrate all festivals with great gung-ho and cheer. While the adults had their own reasons, we kids enjoyed the food part the best. Every other day there would be some celebration at someone's home and all of us would get treated with sweets and treats. Truly there was never a dull day here and I am fortunate to have experienced such an enriched childhood. The foods coming out of each house were filled with affection, honesty, and flavors. In fact, I remember clearly that on some rare days when there as no hustle-bustle in the building, I would go to my mom and ask her to make something different and tasty that day just to pep us up.
One of my friends is from Rajasthan and we would always be over at their house in the afternoons when the sun was too harsh to play outside. On some days, her mom would insist that we have lunch there and we would be more than happy to do so. We just needed an excuse to stay outside the home (not that we were tortured at home :)) The simple lunch at her house would be so different from mine. They don't add onions and garlic in their food. Actually, even some of our traditional South Indian dishes do not have garlic in it, and in fact, my grandma had never purchased garlic in her lifetime. Also, only when my mom moved to this city from her hometown Trichy, did she begin to purchase garlic and include it in her cooking. That I think was due to the Maharashtrian influence she had when she came here. But Rajasthani food is very simple with some strong flavors due to the whole spices used. Her mom made this sabzi all the time and the taste of which is etched in my mind. I have tried to recreate her recipe today.
Let me take you through this recipe which I got from my friend's mother. When I called to ask her this recipe, she laughed and exclaimed that why I want such a basic recipe. But I was adamant as I knew that this dish has a lot of potentials and by no means is a basic recipe. I have added garlic to her recipe. Also, she had used curd, I have used coconut milk to keep it vegan. Rest is her traditional recipe. First, we need to dry roast coriander seeds
, cumin seeds
, fennel seeds
, and ajwain
/caraway seeds. Be careful to not burn it. Once they turn light golden and releases an aroma, take it off the flame. Once it cools down completely, grind it to a fine powder using any spice/coffee grinder
. Heat oil
in a pan
and once its hot enough, temper mustard seeds
. As they crackle, add minced garlic, chopped green chilies and ginger paste
along with curry leaves
and chopped cilantro. Saute for a minute or till the garlic turns golden and then add the chopped onions along with little salt.
Continue to saute till the onions turn soft and translucent. Carrot and peas need to be added next. I used frozen but you can definitely use fresh peas and carrots. Only note that they will take a bit longer to cook than frozen ones. Add salt and pepper and cook these two veggies for 5-7 minutes. Then add the ground masala, give it a good mix, and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add coconut milk
and turn off the heat. Mix and check to season. Adjust salt and pepper according to your taste. Vegan Rajasthani Carrot & Peas Gravy is now ready. You can serve this sabzi with any Indian bread like chapati or naan. This tastes great with steamed rice as well. Such a simple dish yet loaded with flavors! Pack this in lunchbox along with some Maharashtrian Koshimbir | Indian Salad with Yogurt and you are set. The gravy is mildly sweet because of the peas and carrots, rich, creamy, gluten-free, and vegan. The addition of Rajasthani ground masala is the soul of this dish.
You can also add chickpea or besan mixed with water to the gravy instead of coconut milk or just use beaten yogurt.
Vegan Rajasthani Carrot & Peas Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ajwain/caraway seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 green chillies
- 3-4 curry leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 onion
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 can coconut milk
- salt as required
- pepper as required
Instructions
- First we need to dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and ajwain/caraway seeds. Be careful to not burn it. Once they turn light golden and releases an aroma, take it off the flame. Once it cools down completely, grind it to a fine powder using any spice/coffee grinder. Heat oil in a pan and once its hot enough, temper mustard seeds. As they crackle, add minced garlic, chopped green chillies and ginger paste along with curry leaves and chopped cilantro. Saute for a minute or till the garlic turns golden and then add the chopped onions along with little salt.
- Continue to saute till the onions turn soft and translucent. Carrot and peas need to be added next. I used frozen but you can definitely use fresh peas and carrots. Only note that they will take a bit longer to cook than frozen ones. Add salt and pepper and cook these two veggies for 5-7 minutes. Then add the ground masala, give it a good mix and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and turn off the heat. Mix and check seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper according to your taste. Vegan Rajasthani Carrot & Peas Gravy is now ready. You can serve this sabzi with any Indian bread like chapati or naan.
Notes
Carrots and peas are basic ingredients and you can prepare many recipes with either of them. Carrot Halwa Ice Cream, Instant Carrot & Oats Dosa/Crepes, Green Peas Crepes/Dosa, Methi Matar Malai | Fenugreek Green Peas Gravy, Mutter Ka Nimona/Green Peas Curry and Restaurant Style Aloo Mutter Gravy/Potatoes & Green Peas Curry are some recipes that you can make using green peas.
I made this dish for dinner tonight. It was excellent, both with rotis and steamed rice. This recipe is a keeper!! Thank you!
I am so glad you liked it. DO share a pic if you have 🙂